I thought I’d better give an update on our special senior, Ben.

A couple Saturdays ago, I noticed Ben’s eye was weepy and he was holding it closed. While we were relaxing in our chairs in the yard, he laid nearby and started rubbing his face on the grass. I got up to check him and his eye looked a bit cloudy at that point.

I reached out to my vet and asked if it were better if we try to get him in to see her (which I figured would be sooner) or head back to the specialist in Spokane. She suggested we reach out to the eye clinic again. I called and left a detailed message so when they opened Monday morning they would know what was going on.

Thankfully the eye clinic called first thing Monday morning to schedule an appointment for Ben, but the soonest they could get him in was Friday afternoon.

Friday rolled around and this time I was more prepared for the long trip. I gave Ben some Dramamine since he got carsick the last time. Plus he was so anxious, that I decided to take his emotional support dog aka best friend, Cajsa with us. I knew the back seat would be crowded with two large dogs, but figured he wouldn’t mind sharing the space with her. And he was definitely more calm on this trip.

And to combat the slick floor at the clinic, I packed up three big rubber-backed throw rugs and brought them too. From the large door mat as you enter the clinic, I just laid out our big rugs to the waiting area or to the exam room and let Ben walk on the path of rugs. It worked great!

Cajsa watching the door where brother Ben disappeared into.

Unfortunately, Ben’s eye is progressively getting worse. The tumor is growing, there is inflammation and there was some obvious hemoraging. Thankfully, there were not ulcerations on the cornea from his rubbing it.  The doctor switched his eye drops to a steroid drop, twice a day. We have to continue to watch for changes or any pain and we have pain meds should he need them. He wants us to call in a week with an update and recheck the eye pressure in one month (so another trip to Spokane).

On the way home, I stopped to get some lunch and got the dogs a pup cup. Cajsa dove right into hers (and tried to steal Ben’s). Ben had never had one so he was a little suspicious of the cup filled with white foam. He pushed it onto the floor in his exploration so I had to rescue it and hold it for him.

I’ll keep you all posted on Ben’s health journey!